Question 1

Labor shortages in the U.S. are due to scarcity of workers.

Accepted Answer

Labor shortages in the U.S. can be due to various factors including mismatch between the skills workers have and the skills employers need, geographic mismatches, uncompetitive wages, and changing demographics, rather than just a scarcity of workers.

Question 2

Training can change people's personality styles.

Accepted Answer

While core aspects of personality are relatively stable over time, research suggests that training and intentional practice can lead to changes in personality traits, such as increasing openness or conscientiousness, especially if it is consistent and tailored towards specific personality development goals.

Question 3

A problem many professionals (such as accountants) face when being promoted into management is a lack of people skills.

Accepted Answer

Many professionals excel in their technical roles but may not have developed the people skills necessary for effective management, such as communication, empathy, and leadership, which can be crucial for managing teams and projects.

Question 4

Selecting for an attribute and training for an attribute can be equally effective strategies.

Accepted Answer

Selecting for an attribute and training for an attribute can both be effective strategies, depending on the specific context and goals.

Question 5

One can increase a person's level of conscientiousness through training.

Accepted Answer

Research in psychology suggests that personality traits, including conscientiousness, can be developed or enhanced through targeted interventions, training, and practice, leading to changes in behavior and habits over time.

Question 6

Reengineering presumes a willingness by an organization to modify jobs to fit the skills and aptitudes of employees.

Accepted Answer

Reengineering involves redesigning jobs to align with the capabilities and skills of employees, ensuring a better fit between the job requirements and the workforce.

Question 7

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires most employers to make changes in jobs to accommodate disabled workers.

Accepted Answer

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities, unless doing so would cause undue hardship for the business. This can include making changes to the job, work environment, or the way things are usually done to enable an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform job functions, or enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.

Question 8

Successful managers do not rely on reengineering.

Accepted Answer

Successful managers often rely on reengineering to improve processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency within their organizations. Reengineering involves the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical measures of performance.

Question 9

In a wide variety of jobs, the best personality measure to assess job performance is conscientiousness.

Accepted Answer

Conscientiousness, a dimension of the Big Five personality traits, has been consistently found to be the best predictor of job performance across a wide variety of occupations. It encompasses qualities such as reliability, diligence, and attention to detail, which are valuable in most job settings.

Question 10

Conscientiousness predicts trustworthiness and honesty but not job performance.

Accepted Answer

Conscientiousness predicts not only trustworthiness and honesty but also job performance, as numerous studies have shown that conscientious individuals tend to perform better at work due to their diligence, reliability, and organized approach to tasks.

Question 11

Companies are increasingly relying on personality measures to select and place job candidates.

Accepted Answer

Companies use personality assessments to better understand the traits and characteristics of potential employees, ensuring they fit the job role and company culture, which can lead to more effective hiring decisions.

Question 12

In general, more extroverted salespeople perform the same as introverted ones.

Accepted Answer

Extroverted salespeople often perform better in sales roles due to their natural inclination towards social interaction and ability to build rapport with clients more easily, which are key components in sales success.

Question 13

Emotional adjustment is related to likelihood of an employee engaging in deviant acts on the job.

Accepted Answer

Emotional adjustment, which reflects an individual's ability to manage stress and emotions, is related to the likelihood of engaging in deviant acts on the job. Poor emotional adjustment can lead to higher stress levels and poorer impulse control, increasing the likelihood of deviant behavior.

Question 14

Openness to experience probably promotes learning and creativity.

Accepted Answer

Openness to experience is a personality trait that involves imagination, curiosity, and a broad range of interests, which can enhance one's ability to learn new things and engage in creative thinking.

Question 15

Most people can readily perceive individual differences in personality dimensions such as aggressiveness, sociability, and impulsiveness.

Accepted Answer

Research in psychology has shown that people are generally quite adept at perceiving differences in personality traits like aggressiveness, sociability, and impulsiveness in others, often based on relatively brief observations.

Question 16

Conscientiousness, even in the absence of ability, is a valuable asset in a worker.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Conscientiousness, even in the absence of ability,...

Question 17

Salespeople who were not very skilled have been found to make low commissions even when their emotional stability is high; but when they are skilled, their emotional stability enhances their job performance.

Accepted Answer

Emotional stability can help skilled salespeople perform better by managing stress and maintaining focus, but it does not compensate for a lack of sales skills, which are crucial for making commissions.

Question 18

General cognitive ability is the same as intelligence.

Accepted Answer

General cognitive ability, often referred to as general intelligence or g factor, encompasses a broad range of cognitive capabilities including reasoning, problem-solving, and learning.

Question 19

The heart of reasoning ability is the capacity to work with numbers.

Accepted Answer

Reasoning ability encompasses a wide range of cognitive skills, including problem-solving, understanding relationships between concepts, and logical thinking, not just numerical or mathematical skills.

Question 20

Generally, ability tests are much better than personality tests at predicting job performance.

Accepted Answer

Ability tests, which measure cognitive abilities, skills, and knowledge, tend to have higher predictive validity for job performance compared to personality tests. This is because cognitive abilities are often directly related to job tasks and requirements.

Quiz 3: Managing Diversity and Individual Differences